Thankful for helping hands during Nov. 17 storm

Tuesday

Mar 25, 2014 at 11:08 AM

First, I want to send a heartfelt thanks to all the people who have volunteered their time, efforts and some of them money during and after the tornado crisis of Nov. 17, 2013. My story includes my two twin 5-year-old grandsons.

We were on an adventure that day going to Walmart and McDonald's in Washington. Their parents were out of town and we live in East Peoria. The last I heard on the radio before the station went off the air was that the tornado had hit near Marquette Heights. I knew we must be in trouble when I tried calling out on my cell phone and it said no service.

The wind picked up and the sky darkened. We were traveling on Highway 24 and were getting close to Georgetown Common Apartments when we saw the funnel of the tornado coming toward the apartments. I yelled at the boys to get on the floor and cover their heads. Debris in the wind was crashing into the windows and glass started flying. Power lines from all around us were falling. I looked for a place to pull off the road and noticed the top part of the Georgetown Common Apartment building was ripped right off. The wind came into the car, picked it up and moved it a couple of feet. Needless to say we were all terrified! We watched the tornado head across the street. I couldn’t believe the aftermath and all the devastation. The police and emergency vehicles arrived right away.

I want to thank the woman who came to the car and gave the boys a towel and checked to see if we were alright. I want to thank the man and his son, Matthew, who stayed with us by the police car. I also want to thank the two women who helped carry the boys to a Motel 8 where my daughter picked us up and took us home after it started storming again. I also want to commend all of the nurses, Jennifer, Michelle and friends who selflessly paid for my car to get fixed and had their friend, Ehrin, do the work. What a wonderful Christmas gift!

Thank God that we weren’t hurt! I hope everyone has a blessed New Year.